The referendum on the Treaty of Amsterdam, which provides for significant reform of the European Union, is likely to take place early next year, according to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Burke.
All 15 EU member-states must ratify the treaty, agreed in Amsterdam last June. In some states a vote of parliament is sufficient to approve the treaty, but in others, including Ireland, a referendum is needed.
The treaty will be signed on October 2nd, Mr Burke told a lunch organised by the Association of European Journalists in the Hibernian Hotel, Dublin, yesterday. "The Government will publish a White Paper on it at the end of October or the beginning of November to put before the public what is involved in the treaty," he said.
The new treaty was designed to strengthen EU policies and institutions and represented a necessary step forward for the Union, reflecting "the consensus prevailing among the member-states".
Mr Burke also ruled out the possibility that the State might become involved in the NATO-sponsored Partnership for Peace Programme, a move which was favoured by his predecessor, Mr Spring.
"As long as I am in Iveagh House and as long as this Government is in place we will not be joining Partnership for Peace.
"We regard it as second-class membership of NATO," he said.